Domino Tower Electronic Video Game

ABSTRACT

Embodiments described herein are directed to an electronic version of domino that adds elements of wagering. A player makes a wager for dominoes to be dealt. A minimum of one domino through a maximum of five dominoes can be wagered on and dealt. Once the dominoes are dealt, the player may “flip” the dominoes by touching them. A player can flip the dominoes online in the starting row, so that dominoes dealt in the next row/level have the best chance of creating a chain. Once satisfied with the dominoes, the player keeps the dominoes to play them. A new row of dominoes is then dealt. Any number of pips on these dominoes that match the bottom dominoes number of pips awards the player a payout and another domino or set of dominoes is dealt to the next row/level. This sequence of play continues until there are no more matching dominoes or the player has hit the maximum payout level. Payouts increase with the size of the domino chain. There is also a bonus game that is awarded whenever a certain type of domino is dealt.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/936,354, entitled “Domino Tower”, filed Jun. 21, 2007, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate generally to interactive entertainment systems, and more specifically to electronic video domino games.

BACKGROUND

Electronic versions of games have become widely developed for many different kinds of traditional games. For example, console and online versions of many different card games, especially poker, have become part of very popular casinos, game rooms and Internet sites. Besides card games, there are many other types of traditional games that can be implemented as electronic or online games, such as board games, puzzles, piece-based games (e.g., chess or checkers), and the like. Another important class of games are tile-based games that use tiles as one of the fundamental elements of play. Principal examples of this type of game are dominos (or dominoes), Mahjong, Rummikub, and other similar games. Each game has different tiles, and in a video game format, the tiles are part of the games' graphical output and/or unit movement system.

In Western countries, dominos is perhaps the most popular tile game. A standard domino sets consists of 28 pieces called dominos, or alternatively bones, cards, tiles or tickets. Each domino piece is a rectangular tile with a line dividing its face into two square ends. Each end is marked with a number of black spots or is blank. The spots (also called “pips”) are generally arranged as they are on six-sided dice, but because there are also blank ends having no spots there are normally seven possible faces. Standard domino sets have ends ranging from zero spots to six spots (a double six set), but specialized sets might range from zero to nine (a double nine set), zero to twelve (a double twelve set), zero to fifteen (a double fifteen set), or zero to eighteen (a double eighteen set). The back side of a domino is generally blank, or is decorated in the same manner on every piece. In general, dominos are generic game pieces, and many different games can be played with a set of dominoes. The standard domino game has each player starting with a set number of tiles and attempting to place the tiles on a table until he or she runs out of tiles. Once the lead tile has been placed, only tiles that match the exposed ends of a chain may be played. A match occurs when the number value on two exposed ends of a tile are the same. If a tile is a double it is placed vertically, otherwise it is placed horizontally on the table. Players take turns placing tiles that have the same number of pips as the exposed tiles in a chain. If a player does not have any tiles which have a number of pips that matches one of the exposed ends of a chain, the player must draw extra tiles until a matching tile is drawn.

Online versions of domino-based games have been developed, but are rather rudimentary adaptations of the table game. Present electronic domino games do not provide a sufficient level of wagering to allow effective use in a casino-type environment or online betting system.

What is needed therefore is an electronic or online version of dominos that exploits some of the graphic gaming elements that are possible with present video game technologies. What is further needed is an electronic domino game that effectively incorporates aspects of wagering.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an electronic game screen for an online or electronic domino tower game, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates the placement of a selected number of dominoes into a domino tower game screen, under an embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example round of play for a domino tower game, under an embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates the display of a defined domino piece that awards a bonus game, under an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence of play for a domino tower game, under an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an electronic gaming system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an electronic gaming system according to another embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments described herein include a domino-based electronic video game that combines elements of a graduated betting structure with standard domino play in a unique graphic display structure.

In the following description, numerous specific details are introduced to provide a thorough understanding of, and enabling description for, embodiments of the online domino tower game and game system. One skilled in the relevant art, however, will recognize that these embodiments can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other components, systems, and so on. In other instances, well-known structures or operations are not shown, or are not described in detail, to avoid obscuring aspects of the disclosed embodiments.

Embodiments of the domino tower game are played on an electronic game console or computer (hereinafter referred to as the “game platform” or the “game console”) that includes a central processing unit and a display, along with other components, such as memory, input/output devices, network access devices, and so on. A graphical user interface provides the game environment for the user and may be provided on a single display device, or multiple display devices including a display that is visible to multiple users at one time. A network of game consoles supporting respective players of the game may be referred to as the “domino tower.” This embodiment may be implemented in a kiosk-based game environment. Other embodiments may be implemented in a client-server network environment for distributed online play among networked computer users. Such an implementation may utilize the Internet through a web-based interface between a web server computer and a plurality of web browser client computers.

A player makes a wager for dominoes to be dealt. A minimum of one domino through a maximum of five dominoes can be wagered on and dealt. Once the dominoes are dealt, the player may “flip” the dominoes by touching them. A player can flip the dominoes online in the starting row, so that dominoes dealt in the next row/level have the best chance of creating a chain. Once satisfied with the dominoes, the player can elect to keep the dominoes. A new row of dominoes is then dealt. Any numbers on these dominoes that match the bottom dominoes top numerical value award the player a payout and another domino is dealt to the next row/level. This sequence of play continues until there are no more matched dominoes or the player has hit the maximum payout level. Payouts increase with the size of the domino chain. There is also a bonus game that is awarded whenever a certain type of domino is dealt.

FIG. 1 illustrates an electronic game screen for an online or electronic domino tower game, according to an embodiment. This is the basic screen of the graphical user interface before a player begins a game. The layout of the basic game screen may be configured in any number of ways, depending upon actual implementation based on system constraints and requirements. Play begins with the player making a bet in the appropriate area 101 of the game screen. As shown in FIG. 1, the player makes a bet 106 by selecting the “bet per hand” and “bet max” command buttons on the game screen. The bet amount can be in any appropriate denomination, such as money (of any currency), credits, chips, or any similar defined unit of value. The player selects a number of hands/columns to play in display area 102. The player can select from one to five domino pieces. The selected number of dominoes are then dealt dynamically into display area 103 with predetermined amounts.

FIG. 2 illustrates the placement of a selected number of dominoes into a domino tower game screen, under an embodiment. The example of FIG. 2 illustrates five dominoes 104 placed in display area 103. Display area 103 represents the starting row for the tower of dominoes which will be filled by additional rows above this starting row. When the player is satisfied with the rotation and placement of the dominoes, he or she must press the “KEEP” button 105.

After the player selects the dominoes to keep in the starting row 103, the system deals a new row of dominoes in the next row above the starting row. If any domino in this next row is a match for a domino kept in the starting row, the player will win the line bet 107 for that column. FIG. 3 illustrates an example round of play for a domino tower game, under an embodiment. Each successive play of dominoes builds a tower (column) of dominoes. Dominos from successive rows that match the domino from the next lower row, according to normal domino rules are kept for that row and result in a payout based on the rows valuation. As the tower grows by adding dominoes from successive rows to the column, the payouts increase. As shown in FIG. 3, the second row pays exactly (1×) the bet amount as shown by line bet 107, the third row pays five times (5×) the bet amount as shown by line bet 108, the fourth row pays ten times (10×) the bet amount, and so on to the top row, which may pay out as much as 100× the bet amount. For the example of FIG. 3, the first and last dominoes of values five and two in the lowest two rows match. The second and third rows yields only one match for the first domino and the fourth row domino does not match the lower consecutive domino in the third row.

In one embodiment, the dominos dealt in the successive rows above the starting row are dealt randomly by the system. Each successive row is dealt only the number of dominos for which a continuous growing tower (unended chain) is possible. The player has the option to rotate each domino dealt in each successive row and presses the KEEP option button to play the dealt domino row. Successive rows of dominos are dealt until there are no more matching dominoes in a column, or when the player has reached the highest payout level. In an alternative embodiment, the player is allowed to rotate only the dominoes in the starting row, and not rotate any of the successively dealt dominoes.

When the domino tower has been built as high as it can go, the player is shown the result of the game. The total amount won from each row are totaled together and the player is paid an amount indicated in the “PAID” area on the lower right of the screen.

In one embodiment, a bonus game is triggered when a special defined domino is dealt. Such a domino can be represented in any appropriate manner. For example, it may be a blank or wildcard domino. FIG. 4 illustrates the display of a defined domino piece that awards a bonus game, under an embodiment. For this example, the bonus game domino is a double blank domino 106. If this domino is dealt, the player is awarded an extra game.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence of play for a domino tower game, under an embodiment. As shown in block 502, the process begins with the player making a wager for dominoes to be dealt. The player is then dealt any number of dominoes from one to five, block 504. The player can then rearrange the dealt dominoes, block 506. The system then deals the next row of dominoes, block 508. If the player is not allowed to rearrange these subsequent dominoes, play proceeds to block 512, otherwise, the player may rearrange the dominoes on the next row, block 510. In block 512 it is determined whether any of the dominoes in the starting row matches the domino dealt immediately above it in the second row. If there are no matches, the game round ends. If there are one or more matches, the system proceeds to deal the next row of dominoes. Play continues until the highest level is reached or no matches occur between subsequent rows, in which case the game pays out the line bet amount for each row according to a graduated scale, block 514.

The domino tower game applies to multiple “fields”.

The domino tower game can be played by a single player against the system (house), or in a multi-player environment in which players compete against one another or against the system. In one embodiment, the domino tower game system is implemented in a kiosk or console-based system consisting of a number of individual game consoles connected to one another within an area such as a room or portion of a casino. For this embodiment, each game platform is an individual console that can accommodate a single player, each console has its own display, input/output or controller section, and money or chip slot, if necessary. A big-screen display is positioned in the region of the consoles to display the community game. For the console-based gaming system, a number of individual game consoles may be positioned in relatively close proximity to one another and networked together through appropriate electronic hardware. A common display screen of a sufficiently large size is positioned so that it is visible to all of the players of the individual consoles. Alternatively, each console can display its own game screen, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

In one embodiment, the domino tower game is executed as a server process that operates in a client-server system for a number of networked game consoles. In this case, one of the game consoles is configured as a server computer that executes the server-side domino game. Each of the other game consoles executes a client-side version of the domino game. The server-side process is responsible for processing and displaying the community game.

The game consoles for the networked embodiments can be implemented as video game machines that include display devices or monitors that display the game according to embodiments. The domino tower machines also include a central processing unit. The domino tower machines also include input and output devices for receiving input from a player and generating appropriate output. For example, input devices include buttons for the player to push, and a touch screen the player can touch to select and/or move items displayed. Output devices include the monitor and speakers for outputting audio information and sound effects.

For example, the rearrangement of the dominoes by the player once they have been dealt to the row or rows of the game screen can be accomplished by touch screen type inputs, or by cursor controlled inputs, and the like.

The game console environment can be provided in a casino licensed to accept wagers and pay bets. Alternatively, the venue may be a private residence where players can play the electronic video game privately. In yet another alternative, the venue may be an establishment that provides the electronic video game for amusement only, and no real money is wagered while playing the game. Several other alternatives are also possible.

Besides the networked game console implementation, the domino tower game system can be implemented in an online or distributed computer network environment. In this implementation, the players need not be in close proximity with one another, but can instead play from a computer or processing device in their home or other remote location. For this embodiment, each remote game console executes a client side version of the Domino tower game and one of the networked consoles is configured as a server. For this embodiment, the server hosts the community game and coordinates the display of the community game. Alternatively, each of the game consoles executes a standalone version of the domino tower game. In this configuration, the community game is synchronized through a common synchronization process. The network coupling the game consoles can be a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), the Internet, or any other network via which the electronic domino game data can be effectively transferred.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an electronic gaming system 600 according to an embodiment. System 600 includes a server 602 that hosts and serves the domino tower game as described herein. The server 602 can include any known data servers, storage devices and/or processors capable of communicating via a network. The server 602 is coupled to a network 604 that can be a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), the Internet, or any other network via which the electronic video game data can be effectively transferred.

Various venues 606, 608, and 610 are coupled to the network 604 for receiving the domino tower game from the server 602. Each of the venues 606, 608, and 610 include game machines. The game machines include display device or monitors that display the game as shown in FIGS. 1-8. The game machines also include one or more central processing units. The game machines also include input and output devices for receiving input from a player and generating appropriate output. For example, input devices include buttons for the player to push, and a touch screen the player can touch to select and/or move items displayed. Output devices include speakers for outputting auditory information and sound effects.

Venue 606 includes machines 612A and 612B through 612N. Venue 606 includes machines 614A and 614B through 614N. Venue 610 includes machines 616A and 616B through 616N.

One or more of the venues 606, 608, and 610 can be casinos licensed to accept wagers and pay bets. Alternatively, one or more of the venues 606, 608, and 610 can be private residences where players play the game privately. In yet another alternative, one or more of the venues 606, 608 and 610 are establishments that provide the electronic domino tower game to patrons for amusement only and no real money is wagered while playing the game. Other alternatives for implementation are also possible.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an electronic gaming system 700 according to another embodiment. System 700 includes venues 702, 704 and 706. Each of the venues 702, 704 and 706 include a server that stores and serves the Domino tower game as described herein. Each of the venues 702, 704 and 706 further include game machines that display the game as shown in FIGS. 1-4. Venue 702 includes server 708 and machines 710A and 710B through 710N. Venue 704 includes server 712 and machines 714A and 714B through 714N. Venue 706 includes server 718 and machines 718A and 718B through 718N.

Further variations on the system configurations shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 are also within the scope of the claimed invention.

Aspects of the one or more embodiments described herein may be implemented on one or more computers, game platforms, or computing devices executing software instructions. The computers may be networked in a client-server arrangement or similar distributed computer network. In one embodiment, the Domino tower game system may be implemented in a World-Wide Web (WWW) environment in which a server or server clustering environment stores data in the form of web pages and transmits these pages as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) files over the Internet to the client computers. For this embodiment, the client computers typically run a web browser program to access the web pages served by the server computer and any available content provider or supplemental server.

The network client computers are configured to run a client-side process that implements embodiments of the Domino tower game program. The client computer may be any type of suitable computing device, such as a game kiosk or console, personal computer, workstation computer, notebook computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile phone, smartphone, or any similar class of mobile computing device with sufficient processing, communication, and audio/video playback capability. For the networked embodiments, any of the processes executed on any of the client and/or server computers may be standalone programs executed locally on the respective client computer, or they can be portions of a distributed client application run on the client or a network of client computers. Such programs may also be referred to by other terms, such as “module,” “component,” and “process.” These terms may be used interchangeably to mean a computer program, routine, or subroutine that is executed on any of the server and/or client computers, and may be implemented as software, firmware, or programmed hardware.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in a sense of “including, but not limited to.” Words using the singular or plural number also include the plural or singular number respectively. Additionally, the words “herein,” “hereunder,” “above,” “below,” and words of similar import refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. When the word “or” is used in reference to a list of two or more items, that word covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list and any combination of the items in the list.

The above description of illustrated embodiments of the systems and methods is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the systems and methods to the precise forms disclosed. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the systems components and methods are described herein for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the systems, components and methods, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. The teachings of the systems and methods provided herein can be applied to other systems and methods for electronic domino games, not only for the systems and methods described above.

The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. These and other changes can be made to the systems and methods in light of the above detailed description.

In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the systems and methods to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all systems and methods that operate under the claims. Accordingly, the systems and methods are not limited by the disclosure, but instead the scope of the systems and methods is to be determined entirely by the claims.

While certain aspects of the systems and methods are presented below in certain claim forms, the inventors contemplate the various aspects of the systems and methods in any number of claim forms. For example, while only one aspect of the systems and methods may be recited as embodied in machine-readable medium, other aspects may likewise be embodied in machine-readable medium. Accordingly, the inventors reserve the right to add additional claims after filing the application to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects of the systems and methods. 

1. A method of playing an electronic domino game, the method comprising: receiving a wager from a player for one or more dominoes to be dealt; dealing the specified number of dominoes to the player in a starting row of a game display area; receiving user input from the player representing flipping of one or more dominoes in the starting row; dealing an additional row of dominoes to a second row of the game display area; determining whether any of the dominoes in the starting row match the domino dealt immediately above it in the second row; dealing another additional row of dominoes if there are any matches between the starting row and the second row; and paying out a defined payout amount for any matched dominoes between the starting row and the second row.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the defined payout amount increases for each subsequent dealt row of dominoes.
 3. The method of claim 2 further comprising: defining a domino representing a bonus game domino; determining if the bonus game domino is dealt as part of any hand of dominoes; and awarding a bonus game to the player if the bonus game domino is dealt.
 4. The method of claim 3 further comprising: allowing the player to flip dominoes dealt to successive rows after the starting row; and receiving user input from the player representing flipping of one or more dominoes in a subsequent row after the starting row.
 5. The method of claim 4 further comprising determining whether any of the dominoes in a row matches the domino dealt immediately above it in a subsequent row.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the domino game is an electronic game and wherein the player input is received electronically, comprising at least one of: the player touching a touch screen to indicate a choice, or the player entering commands through a keyboard to indicate a choice.
 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the domino game is a community game is displayed on a common display viewable by all of the participating players at one time.
 8. The method of claim 6 wherein the domino game is played by the user on an individual computing platform remotely coupled to one or more other computing platforms operated by other players over a wide area network.
 9. An electronic domino game system, comprising: a plurality of game machines each of which comprises, an output display device configured to display an electronic domino game; and an input device configured to receive user input regarding game play; a server configured to store instructions comprising a electronic domino game, wherein the server communicates with the plurality of game machines via at least one network, and wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the electronic domino game to be played on the plurality of game machines, the electronic domino game comprising: receiving a wager from a player for one or more dominoes to be dealt; dealing the specified number of dominoes to the player in a starting row of a game display area; receiving user input from the player representing flipping of one or more dominoes in the starting row; dealing an additional row of dominoes to a second row of the game display area; determining whether any of the dominoes in the starting row match the domino dealt immediately above it in the second row; dealing another additional row of dominoes if there are any matches between the starting row and the second row; and paying out a defined payout amount for any matched dominoes between the starting row and the second row.
 10. The system of claim 9 wherein the plurality of electronic domino games is distributed among a plurality of venues.
 11. The system of claim 9 wherein the server and plurality of electronic domino game is located at a venue.
 12. The system of claim 9 wherein the server and plurality of electronic domino game machines are coupled over the Internet, and wherein the server comprises a web server process accessed through web browsers executed on each of the plurality of electronic domino game machines.
 13. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a processor cause a method to be performed, the method comprising: receiving a wager from a player for one or more dominoes to be dealt; dealing the specified number of dominoes to the player in a starting row of a game display area; receiving user input from the player representing flipping of one or more dominoes in the starting row; dealing an additional row of dominoes to a second row of the game display area; determining whether any of the dominoes in the starting row match the domino dealt immediately above it in the second row; dealing another additional row of dominoes if there are any matches between the starting row and the second row; and paying out a defined payout amount for any matched dominoes between the starting row and the second row.
 14. The medium of claim 13, wherein the player input is received electronically, comprising at least one of: the player touching a touch screen to indicate a choice, or the player entering commands through a keyboard to indicate a choice.
 15. The medium of claim 14 wherein a plurality of additional players interacts with the player through respective game platforms.
 16. The medium of claim 15 wherein the additional players are remotely coupled over a wide area network and wherein the respective game platforms comprise personal computer workstations.
 17. The medium of claim 16 wherein the electronic domino game is an online game served by a web server, and wherein each of the respective game platforms comprises a computer executing a web browser. 